Background

Since October 98, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) in collaboration with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department (MDFRD) and the Office of United States Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of USAID is implementing a 5 year program to improve the performance of Medical First Responders (MFR) and Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue (CSSR) personnel and agencies in the countries of India, Nepal, Indonesia and the Philippines.

All Coordination for PEER Nepal will be coursed through His Majesty's Government, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), and Disaster Relief Section. The participating agencies include: Nepal Red Cross society, Royal Nepal Army, Nepal Police, Ministry of Health, and other agencies to be identified and coordinated through MOHA.

Disaster Situation

The high mountains and Himalayan range of Nepal which is a young mountain chain that stretches almost 2500 kms. in the east - west direction falls under the seismically active zone mainly due to the subduction of the Indian plate under the Tibetan plate. The seismic record of Nepal goes back to 1255 A.D. Since then a series of earthquakes occurred. Among all these earthquakes, the event of 1833 A.D. was the major one exact data of which are not available. After that Nepal has passed through a very big earthquake in 1934 A.D. with a tremor of 8.4 Richter scale magnitude. It's epicentre was in Kathmandu. This disaster claimed the life of 16,875 people and destroyed 3,18,139 houses.

Disaster Management

Implementing Organization

Central Natural Disaster Relief Committee (CNDRC) has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Home Minister in order to formulate and implement the policies and programs relating to the natural disaster relief work and to undertake other necessary measures related thereof.

PEER in Nepal

The Program for the Enhancement of Emergency Response (PEER) is a regional program of the USAID office of U. S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA), and implemented by the National Society for Earthquake Technology-Nepal (NSET) together with three US-based partners: International Resources Group (IRG), Safety Solutions, Inc. (SSI), and Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Nepal is among the six partner PEER countries, which also include Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines. PEER countries were selected when the program was launched in 1998 based on seismic vulnerability. PEER is now in the fifth year of phase II (2003-2008)

PEER implements activities in Nepal under the coordinating authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs. To institutionalize Medical First Responder (MFR) and Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue (CSSR) training in Nepal, PEER-NSET has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nepal Police, Ministry of Home Affairs, which serves as the Lead Training Institution. The Royal Nepalese Army, Nepal Armed Police Force and the Nepal Red Cross Society are also participating MFR/CSSR training institutions. PEER Hospital Preparedness for Emergencies (HOPE) programming is implemented in Nepal in partnership with the Institute of Medicine (IOM), Tribhuvan University, with which PEER-NSET has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Training Courses Conducted by PEER in Nepal